Kei truck import questions, answered

On Bring a Trailer in 2025 and 2026, the median sold price for each model's kei trucks and vans was about $6,900 for the Suzuki Carry, $7,900 for the Honda Acty, $8,400 for the Daihatsu Hijet and $9,100 for the Subaru Sambar. Clean, low-mileage 4WD trucks sell for more. Prices are quoted before Michigan's 6% sales tax, title and plates.

For most buyers, a 4WD manual Subaru Sambar or Honda Acty. The Sambar is the smoothest on rough ground; the Acty is the most common. The Hijet Jumbo suits taller drivers, and the Carry has the deepest US parts support.

Not for road use in the US. New kei trucks don't meet US safety standards, so only trucks 25 years and older can be imported and registered for the road.

Most 660cc kei trucks are happiest at 45 to 55 mph. They are built for farm lanes, hunting land, campgrounds and town errands, not interstates.

For property, farm and light work they are hard to beat: 4WD with low range, a flat bed that folds down on three sides, good fuel use and a size that fits through gates and trails. They are not highway vehicles.

Kei trucks 25 years and older can be imported. Road use depends on your state. Michigan titles and registers kei trucks and microvans 25 years and older for on-road use if they were built for road use; younger ones can only be titled off-road. Check your own state before you buy.

25 years from the month and day it was built, not the model year. A truck built in June 2001 can be imported from June 2026. Our eligibility checker on the 25-year rule page works out the date for you.

It depends on the state. Indiana has a registration for mini trucks. Ohio limits them to roads posted at 35 mph or less. Wisconsin generally allows them. Rules change, so check with your state's DMV before you buy; we supply the federal import documents either way.

The truck's price in Japan plus Japan-side fees (auction fee, export certificate, transport, port and container loading), a share of the container freight, marine insurance, the 25% US truck duty, customs fees, the customs broker, and trucking to Wayne. Our landed-cost calculator shows every line.

25%. Kei trucks are goods vehicles under HTS heading 8704, and the 25-year rule does not change the duty. It is charged on the value of the truck at the Japanese port, not on ocean freight. We confirm the amount with a licensed customs broker on every quote.

Kei trucks travel three or four to a 40 ft container, by sea and rail to the Detroit area, then on a truck to Wayne. Sharing a container costs less per truck than shipping one alone.

Older trucks lose value fast in Japan, where regular shaken inspections make keeping them expensive. After fees, freight, the 25% duty and US prep, a kei truck is not cheap here, but it is still far less than a new UTV with a bed.

Usually 10 to 15 weeks from approving a truck to delivery in Michigan, depending on ship schedules and customs.

To start the search: $1,500. Sourcing deposit. Refunded in full if we find no matching truck within 60 days. When you approve a truck: $3,000. Paid after you approve the photos, the translated auction sheet and the build month. From here the truck is yours and this payment is non-refundable. On delivery: Balance. The rest of the agreed price, when the truck is ready in Wayne or before it is trucked to you.

Yes, when the truck is 25 years old by build date and the paperwork is real. Scams in this market use fake auction sheets, wire or crypto payments to individuals, and changed bank details. We only take payment into the Kojo JDM business account, against written terms. We never ask you to pay an individual, and we never change bank details by email.

You see the original auction sheet with a full translation, the photos and, where possible, extra photos from our Japan partner, including the underbody. Nothing is bought without your approval.

Every truck comes with: US customs entry (CBP 7501) and the 25% truck duty paid; DOT HS-7 and EPA 3520-1 import declarations; Japanese export certificate with English translation; Michigan title paperwork, or what your state's DMV needs.